Command Override
by KESwriter
Summary: When the Doctor is captured by a menacing alien race, River takes charge of the rescue mission. It will take combined efforts of current and previous companions to save the Doctor in time.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, I don't write here often, but I feel like something new, so here I am.

Command Override

The second snap was a signal. For what, they didn't know until they got back in the TARDIS and the doors were firmly closed.

It started out the way many of their trips had started: on the way to one place and ending up in a completely different location. The destination was a place people lived treehouses and used special wings to fly from tree to tree. But then a distress signal came in and they headed to an asteroid belt.

Landing on the largest rock, the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to guide them to the source of distress. It was a single white light on black pole. After the Doctor scanned it and turned around. There was a look of fear in her eyes like none of them had ever seen.

"RUN!" she shouted.

By now they knew better than to question her orders. Their lives were in peril and they needed to get out as quickly as possible.

No had seen her open the doors with a snap of her fingers before. She snapped them twice just as they were within a few feet of the TARDIS. For once the Doctor wasn't leading. She kept looking over her shoulder and pushed them forward. Once Graham was over the threshold, the Doctor let out a blood-curdling scream as she was pulled away from them and into the darkness.

The doors wouldn't open again. The TARDIS began to move as if in traveling mode. A projection of the Doctor appeared.

"If you're seeing this, it means our time traveling together has come to an end," she said calmly. "I am facing a danger that only I can face alone. I have programmed the TARDIS to send you home two minutes after we last departed. Graham, Grace would be proud of your choice to live life beyond what you could see and enjoy time with your grandson. Ryan, I am so proud of you. There isn't a challenge on any plane of existence you can't conquer. Yaz, you have so much to offer to the universe. Take care of the boys for me, okay?"

The transmission ended.

"No!" Yaz shouted. "There's got to be something we can do! Anything!"

Another voice filled the TARDIS.

"You, silly man," the female voice said. "If you've set this up because you doubt your friends, then I'm here to set the record straight. I'm taking over."

Graham looked around.

"Who do you suppose that is?"

The TARDIS lurched around. Yaz held on.

"I'm not sure I care so long as she can help us save the doctor," she said.

…

She woke up cold. Pressed against a cold metal surface, she was wearing no clothes. Taking a calming breath, she tested the restraints and felt no give. The Doctor knew that was not worst thing that was going to happen to her.

"Hello Doctor," a cold menacing voice said.

A humanoid greenish cat figure appeared.

The Doctor let out a sigh.

"I had sincerely hoped your race had gone extinct. That you were only a bogeyman, time lords were warned about before they acquired a TARDIS."

It laughed and pulled out an enormous syringe.

"Isn't there a famous a writer from Earth who once said: 'Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.'"

It plunged the needle in her neck and the Doctor screamed.


	2. Chapter 2

I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter Two:

After what felt like hours but was only probably five minutes, the TARDIS appeared to land somewhere. Seconds later, the doors flew open and a figure resembling a large blue slug rushed forward.

"Perfect timing as always darling," the female voice they recognized from the recording said. "I was about to be chased off a cliff for stealing the Jewel of Arcardaria. Don't worry it was already stolen from a dead person so there is no harm in me having it.

There was a snapping sound and slug transformed into a woman with frizzy red hair wearing a black even gown.

"Okay," she said as they stared at her. "Which one of you is my husband or wife?" she added winking at Yaz.

"None of us," Ryan said. "We're her friends. She's been abducted by some alien and tried to send us home but you-"

"Say no more, dear," she said and approached the TARDIS console. "I'll just enter the last known coordinates and we'll find my wife, she's my wife right now, correct?"

"Wait," Yaz said. "Are you River Song?"

"Why yes," she said sweetly. "Has she mentioned me?"

"When we asked if she were married, she said she was in complicated long-distance marriage with a woman named River Song," Graham said.

"That's me," she said with a smile.

"How do you know how to fly this thing?" Ryan asked as she turned nobs.

"I was conceived here, so she responds to me naturally," River said.

"The doctor never fully explained the complexity of your relationship," Yaz said slowly.

She laughed.

"And that is hardly the tip of the iceberg."

She snapped her fingers above her head again and her gown was transformed into jeans with denim jacket over a white shirt.

"Let's see what took my wife, shall we?" she said.

They ventured out of the TARDIS and into the same asteroid field. It didn't feel as menacing for some reason. Yaz, Ryan, and Graham stuck close while River led the way.

After a couple minutes, they found the distress beacon. It wasn't lit anymore. River pulled out a green sonic screwdriver and scanned it. She turned around and the look of horror on her face matched that of the Doctor.

"We need to get out of here and gather reinforcements," she said. River took the beacon and led them back to the TARDIS.

"Are you going to tell us what took the Doctor?" Yaz asked.

"And ancient race of evil," she said seriously. "I thought they were a myth when the Doctor first mentioned them. Known for specifically torturing and experimenting on timelords, they make the Daleks look positively innocent."

"What are they called?" Ryan asked.

"The English word for them is the Belua," she said.

"If I remember my Latin, it's a word for beast," Graham said.

"You're smart," she said. "You all seem like a nice charming group. What are your names?"

"Yaz."

"Ryan."

"Graham."

"Well, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham, the TARDIS is about to get more crowded."

"Where are we going?" Yaz asked.

"Earth to pick up a couple immortals, a medical doctor who traveled with the Doctor, and Victorian England for a gang of characters." she said. "We are going to need all the help we can get."

…

The Doctor's throat was sore from screaming. They'd given her a few minutes to rest before their next round of experiments.

She tried to think happy thoughts. All her adventures with her new friends. Discovering chocolate for the first time. Accidentally inventing pasta. Meeting Cleopatra. Donna wasn't a terribly bad kisser, the more she thought about it. She hoped her friend was happy.

Still, the pain was unbearable. Whatever was in those syringes made her want to rip her own skin off. She didn't like showing weakness, but the tears were inevitable. The Doctor didn't beg though. The torture hadn't reached that point, yet.

A tech arranged her on a cold metal chair. The tech then pulled out an electric razor. Her first thought was to beg, but then she thought hair was an awfully vain thing to beg over.

"Make sure to get it all off," she said lightly. "I want my head to look nice and shiny."

The tech leered at her.

"Then I'll shave the rest of you later," he said in a low menacing tone.

She refused to say anything, but tears fell.


	3. Chapter 3

I always appreciate a review, except flames. I don't know anyone who likes flames.

Chapter Three:

"Hello Jack," River said pleasantly and looked around. "Nice to see you've rebuilt the old headquarters."

A man dressed in a military coat smiled broadly at her.

"I'm afraid I don't know you," Jack said. "Unless you are him."

"No, she is now in trouble and I need your help."

"First, tell me who you and your friends are," he said.

"I'm River Song, the Doctor's wife. This is Yaz, Graham, and Ryan," River said with a note of impatience. "The Doctor is in serious trouble Jack."

"Since when isn't he-she?" he said.

"They specialize in experimenting and torturing time lords," she said. "This is no joke."

"Okay," he said. "I'll get the weapons. Gwen, hold down the fort."

"Right, Jack," a woman said at a desk.

"Do you know where Me and Martha Jones are?"

"Me is on a deep-cover assignment in South Africa. We won't find her in time. Martha Jones is in London. I'll text her."

They followed him to a large safe. Jack opened it to reveal a vast array of weapons, some of which looked alien.

"I'm not sure I feel comfortable bringing weapons aboard the Doctor's TARDIS," Yaz said.

"It won't be her TARDIS if she doesn't live to see it again," Jack said and held out a gun.

"Are you prepared to use this?" he asked.

"I'm a police officer," she said irritably. "I've shot guns."

"Show me," he said handing it to her.

She took the safety off and shot him straight between the eyes. Jack fell to the ground.

"That was cold," Ryan said.

"I'm not being left behind," she said fiercely. "The Doctor needs us, all of us."

The was a gasping of breath and Jack woke up.

"Nice, shot," he said. "No hesitation. I like her."

"Let me have one," Ryan said.

"Have you ever shot a real gun before?"

"No," he said sheepishly.

"Stun gun then," he said and gave him a small gun. "Just pull the trigger and it knocks a person out for a good twelve hours."

"Fine," he said.

"How about you Graham?" Jack said.

"I know my place in this group," he said. "I'll stay behind and coordinate groups since I assume, we aren't storming where they're keeping the Doctor."

"You're the brains of the operation," Jack said with a smile.

"I'll take this one," River said. "Red is my color."

"Who else are we bringing?" Jack asked.

"A few characters from Victorian England."

"Oh, this should be fun," Jack said.

…

"I will obliterate the Doctor's enemies with a fury the likes of which the universe has never seen!" Strax, the alien whose head resembled a potato said. "They will grovel before us on what's left of their limbs!"

"Are you done Strax?" the lizard woman named Madame Vastra said.

"I have only begun to vow total annihilation upon the Doctor's adversaries!"

"But that's enough for now," Vastra said.

They were gathered in Vastra's parlor and River had pulled out a dry erase board for them to look at.

"I was able to download the layout for the test facility from the beacon," she said. "It's an underground lair with a single exhaust shaft. We'll disable the sensors and remove the gate. We'll divide into two teams. Jack, Martha, Yaz and I will lead the team and the rest of you will follow as soon I have given the signal that we've gotten down the shaft. We'll then dived and conquer. Stay on your comms at all time. Graham will be monitoring the situation from above. We'll aim to have the TARDIS float a meter above the shaft. Martha and Strax, have your medical kits ready. The gravity is lower there and the atmosphere is slightly higher in concentration of chloride."

They all sat in silence. Even Strax looked slightly morose.

"We're going to get her back," River said.

"Without question!" Strax said pounding the table.

"How does time work there?" Yaz asked.

"By my calculations, the Doctor has been there eight hours," River said.

No one said anything. The implications were clear.

…

The Doctor was losing her grip on reality, which might be for the best. They had opened her skull and attached sensors to various parts of her brain. They kept testing them and the Doctor felt as though she didn't which way was up anymore.

She was exhausted. The pain, humiliation, and anger had drained from her. Now all she wanted was for it to end. Everything to end.

After putting her skull back together, they laid her back on the cold metal table. They didn't bother restraining her as they knew the fight was gone from her.

They pushed her legs apart and the Doctor could see a large needle.

"Please," she said tearfully in a weak tone. "No!"


	4. Chapter 4

I appreciate any support I can get!

Chapter Four:

"I've always wanted to play with a jetpack," Ryan said. "But I wish it was under different circumstances."

"They're good for a quick getaway," River said. "We're lucky my supplier had a sale going."

River addressed the group.

"Once I deactivate the censors, we'll use rope to climb down the shaft and then use the jetpacks back up."

"How long has it been?" Yaz asked.

"Nine and a half hours," River said. "We don't know what we're facing so we do need to be cautious if we want to save the Doctor."

"Caution is for cowards!" Strax said. "Let us blow up the shaft and show the Bilua how powerful we are!"

"Enough, Strax," Vastra said. "Or we'll send you back to London."

The Sontaran groaned.

"Remember to keep your comms activated," River said.

"I'll be in your ears the whole time," Graham said.

"Everybody ready?" River asked.

Everyone nodded.

River pulled a lever. They were entering Biluan space.

…

The ground was greenish brown where they landed. They were using a special microfiber rope being pulled from the TARDIS.

"You okay?" River asked Yaz as she, Martha, and Jack deactivated sensors.

Yaz kept watch.

"Let's just find the Doctor."

"So far, so good," Jack said and carefully lifted the grate.

Jack looked down.

"In honor of the Doctor, Allon-sy!"

He dived down.

Martha shrugged.

"Allon-sy," she said and climbed down.

"I never heard her say that," Yaz said.

"Different face dear," she said and climbed down the shaft.

"We're coming Doctor," Yaz said as she climbed down.

The place reminded her of a sewer in shades of green and arched halls.

River found an alarm and put a small device next to it.

"A handy tool for deactivating alarms," she said.

"The nefarious things you've done with it," Jack said.

"You could never imagine," she said cheekily.

Yaz rolled her eyes and Martha checked her equipment. She knew they were keeping it light to stave off nerves, it still felt wrong.

They traveled down two halls and found no doors. By then the other team, had arrived and headed off in the opposite direction.

A greenish cat figure was walking down the hall with lab coat covered in blood. When it saw them approaching, it pulled out a gun. Jack was quicker and used a gun that vaporized the alien.

"Dalek retrofitted tech," Jack said. "Works silently and effectively."

"Whose blood was that?" Yaz asked with a shiver.

"Try not to think about it," Martha said.

They kept moving. A few tense minutes later they found a set of double doors. Standing out of sight, they silently opened the doors.

It was an amphitheater like something out of a medical school. Biluans were taking notes as the one enclosed in a glass observation room at the base took a bone saw the chest of a bald nude woman. Yaz realized it was the Doctor.

Someone covered her mouth just as she was about to scream. It was Martha.

"We need to get to the lower level," she whispered as Jack and River closed the doors. "They'd kill her before we could get there if we tried to get her now."

Yaz nodded as tears fell.

"Let's get going," River said.

"Vastra, we found the Doctor," Jack said. "Come to this level and watch the doors while we find another entrance. Keep an eye Strax's trigger finger."

There was an added level of quickness to their steps now. They found a stairwell and deactivated the sensors. Yaz was careful not to run.

Meeting no one else in the spookily quiet halls, they opened the door and found nothing but menacing equipment. She tried to keep her mind on rescuing the doctor and not what they were used for.

Jack silently opened another door and saw a Biluan holding one of the Doctor's hearts. Jack nodded to Martha.

Jack vaporized the Biluan holding the Doctor's heart and Martha dove for it. She reached it just in time.

"Help Martha," River instructed as the Biluans began to shoot back.

"What can I do?" Yaz asked.

Martha didn't respond. She was busy putting the Doctor's heart back in place with the precision of a surgeon using soldering equipment instead of stitches and clamps. Then she sealed her chest with a laser and pulled out a scanner for the rest of her body. Yaz winced when she shot a tiny laser at her vaginal area. It was terrifying to imagine what she had been through.

A door opened and a Biluan emerged. Yaz shot it, but not fatally as she hoped. It laughed.

"As our only test subject in a decade, she was the best! Her screams were beautiful. She'll never be the same," it said. "She's not your timelord anymore!"

"Shut him up Yaz!" Jack shouted.

Yaz shot him in the throat to shut it up and then in the head for good measure.

"Vastra's team is stopping more from coming from above," Jack said. "Let's jet out of here to the upper level."

River snapped her fingers above the Doctor, and she was now covered in a light blue nightgown.

Martha activated her jetpack and picked up the Doctor. Yaz, Jack, and River did the same. The jetpacks were easy to use as they were controlled by thought. Together they glided through the amphitheater, shooting occasionally.

"How is she?" Jenny asked.

"Stable for now," Martha said. "Let's get out of here."

The building was tinted in red as someone had reactivated the emergency lights. Vastra's team shot from behind as Jack and River led in the shooting. Yaz noted the grim expression on the Doctor's face and winced.

"A new grate is on the shaft," Graham reported. "They're firing at the TARDIS, but the shields are holding up for now."

"Time for a bigger gun then," Jack said and pulled what looked like a miniature rocket launcher.

A rocket flew up the shaft. The explosion shook the ground briefly. Everyone activated their jetpacks and they flew upwards.

"Shields at fifty percent!" Graham shouted.

"Almost there!" Jack shouted.

River and Jack were the first out and started shooting. Yaz shot wide and Martha entered the TARDIS with the Doctor.

"Everyone, fall back!" River ordered. "Yes, that means you too, Strax!"

They all floated into the TARDIS. Martha had rested the Doctor on the floor.

"Strax, don't all Sontarans, carry planet-leveling devices?"

"Yes," he said. "It is our most precious method of total annihilation. They only give one to each Sontaran."

"Use it," she said firmly.

For once Strax was at a loss for words.

"The Doctor was impregnated with a parasite that was going to eat away at her slowly and painfully from the inside. That is just one thing I could find on a cursory examination. USE IT!"

No one stopped him from pulling open the doors and tossing out a pink bomb the size of a tennis ball. They all stepped forward and watched as the planet on which unspeakably horrible things were done to the Doctor was obliterated.

There was a moment of silence. Ryan then looked around.

"Where's the Doctor?"


	5. Chapter 5

I appreciate any support I can get. Non-flame reviews are great.

Chapter Five:

"The TARDIS is leading us in circles," Jack said after coming out the same hall with Martha the third time.

"Why would it be doing this?" Yaz asked as she emerged with Ryan and Graham from another hall.

"It's a she and I don't understand either," River said emerging from another hall with Vastra, Jenny, and Strax. "She usually responds to my will."

"Enough of these games!" Strax said and pulled out a weapon. "We will blast our way through until we find the Doctor!"

"Do that and I will jettison you off into the nearest star," a female voice said.

They looked to the console and saw a human female face ringed with curls.

"You're the TARDIS," River said slowly.

"An aspect of her, yes," she said.

"The Doctor needs our help," Yaz said. "We need to find her."

"She doesn't want to be found. She knows me better than anyone and it could take you years to find her."

"Won't you help us?" Martha pleaded.

"You chose to leave us," she said icily.

"The Doctor was in love with another woman!" Martha said. "I couldn't compete with that."

"You still left us," she said. "I will only allow those who continue to travel with her to attempt to find her."

"Thank you," Yaz said.

"You will encounter many faces and things, take caution and guard yourselves."

"I'll face anything to help the Doctor," Ryan said.

"Why can't I come?" River asked. "I am her wife."

"You've never met this face," she said. "You also are not a consistent traveling companion."

"Because of paradoxes!" River shouted.

"My mind is made up," she said. "Yaz, Ryan, and Graham will find the Doctor."

The ground shifted beneath them and a new door opened.

"Be careful," River said.

"Should we leave breadcrumbs or tie a rope if we get lost?" Graham said.

"The Doctor will lead us back," Yaz said.

"How big do you think the TARDIS really is?" Ryan asked.

"We'll soon find out," Yaz said as she led the way.

The door closed behind them.

"No going back," Graham said.

They approached an area where there were three doors.

"We're not splitting up," Graham said. "We'll go through each door together."

"Agreed," Yaz said.

When they approached the door on the left, it opened to reveal, what looked the TARDIS console room except larger and brighter with white round shapes everywhere. There was an old man staring at a gold antique clock.

"I can't seem to get this to work," he said out loud. "It's as though I don't have the right tools and I have every tool in the galaxy."

"Excuse me," Ryan said. "Have you seen a bald woman run through here?"

He looked at him curiously.

"Baldness is a preferred state among the Etari people on the planet Galaga," he said. "But I don't expect you humans to understand that as woman here coiffure their hair in elaborate styles, though not as wild as the France in the Eighteen hundreds, or the Zells of the planet Borak."

"Do you think it is hologram?" Graham said.

"I am as real as you are, my good man," he said.

"You're her, aren't you?" Yaz said. "You're the Doctor."

"Why yes, I am the Doctor," he said with a smile. "You're a bright one."

"Did she regenerate?" Ryan asked. "Into an old man?"

"I was never a she," he said. "Though the idea does sound fascinating."

"How do we find your current form?" Yaz asked.

"Faces, change but who we are at our core doesn't," he said. "Moral fortitude exists long before a time lord steps aboard his first TARDIS."

Graham and Ryan sighed.

"A future version of yourself is hurting badly and needs our help," Yaz. "Please show us the way."

"There's nothing special about this clock," he said. "I have seen this design a million times, yet I can't seem to fix it."

"Let me have a look," Graham said. "I like to tinker with things."

He gave him and amused look.

"This is hardly tinkering," he said.

Graham looked at it.

"I think I see what is wrong," he said. "The one dial is off by a millimeter and you just need to move this piece upwards."

He stared at him in wonder.

"You are far more clever than anyone would have ever given you credit for."

The clock started to tick and suddenly the ground began to shake. The Doctor began to blink in and out of existence. There was a huge lurch and Yaz, Graham, and Ryan were thrown from their feet. The slid through a pair of doors that suddenly opened.

Once they got to their feet, they found themselves what looked like another TARDIS console room. A man covered in scarves with curly brown hair under a hat was holding a pair of wires.

"If you knew that a child would grow up to be a dictator responsible for the deaths of countless people, would you kill him before he could start?"

"No," Yaz said getting up on her feet. "The Doctor does not kill."

"But I have," he said. "I could save so many life forms just by connecting two wires."

"You know there are better ways," she said. "You always choose brains over warfare."

"But it would be so simple," he lamented. "So easy."

"The simplest explanation isn't always the easiest one," she said. "Doctor, put the wires down and find another way."

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"With my life," she said.

He put the wires down on the console.

The Doctor began to flicker as the ground began to shake. Once again, the three of them were thrown from their feet. They slid down through a door that had suddenly appeared.

Graham groaned in pain as they landed on the mesh metal floor.

A man in a leather jacket was staring at the TARDIS console forlornly.

"I don't know where to go," he said. "After all I've lost. How do I begin again?"

"My turn I guess," Ryan said as he stood up.

He walked over and punched the Doctor in the face.

"Ryan!" Graham and Yaz shouted together.

The Doctor merely stared at him blankly.

"I don't want to see this face," he said. "I want to see MY doctor! She needs us. I demand you take us to see HER!"

Yaz noticed Ryan was crying.

"My gran died protecting the earth. Without her I was afraid I'd lost a person to show me how to be brave, how to believe I am more than my disability. Then I met the Doctor. She showed me that I am a strong intelligent man like my gran believed. I am a better person because of the Doctor and now it is my turn to help her!"

The Doctor flipped a switch. The door opened out to darkness.

"Thank you," Ryan said, and they walked out.

There were huge waves crashing against a beach under a clear sunny sky.

"DOCTOR!" Yaz screamed. "DOCTOR!"

"Can we swim?" Ryan asked.

"Not in these waves," Graham said.

"Doctor I know you're afraid," Yaz said. "I know you don't want us to see you vulnerable. No one does."

"The thing is Doc," Graham said. "Your suffering is what makes you like us. You may have lived many lives, but the pain your feeling is human."

"Let us be there for you," Ryan said. "We don't think any less of you for showing weakness. You have been our best friend. Let us be yours."

"I love you Doctor," Yaz said.

"I love you Doc," Graham said.

"I love you Doctor," Ryan said.

A massive wave hit the beach. It revealed a path. The Doctor was slowly walking down in the blue nightgown and bare feet. There were tears in her eyes.

Yaz ran forward followed closely behind by Graham and Ryan.

The Doctor raised her arms and Yaz hugged her along with Graham and Ryan.

"I love you too."


	6. Chapter 6

Non-flame reviews are encouraged!

Chapter Six:

With her arms on Yaz and Ryan the Doctor slowly walked to the main console room. She saw Martha and Jack checking their phones, River watching the console, Strax cleaning his weapons, and Jenny and Vastra talking quietly. They all looked up when she entered.

"Hello, everybody," she said weakly. "I don't think the TARDIS has ever been this crowded."

"Darling," River said and rushed to her.

The Doctor let go of Yaz and Ryan and hugged her.

"Staying out of trouble dear?" she asked.

"Never," she said.

"I assume you're the one who overwrote my 'Do Not Rescue' protocols?"

"It saved your life didn't it?"

"Don't do it again."

"No promises."

The Doctor sighed.

"Can I do something for you?"

"Nothing illegal."

River laughed and began to massage her head. It felt good. It felt so good her head began to feel fuzzy. A minute later her hair was back to just above the shoulders.

"You're beautiful as a blond," she said.

The Doctor kissed her on the lips as tears fell. She quickly wiped them away and turned to the rest of the crew.

"How's Mickey, Martha?" she asked.

"I want to examine you further," she said. "I don't know what else they did to you."

"I have thought about that and as much I like the idea of a friend touching me, I'd rather a stranger see me vulnerable. You've seen enough of me. We made friends with people on a hospital ship recently. I intend to go back there."

"Just promise you'll take care of yourself, alright?" Martha said.

The Doctor gave her a quick hug and turned to Jack.

"How's immortality treating you these days?"

"Not to bad," he said. "Me is keeping me on my toes, which is good thing."

"Give her my best," she said.

"And give me a hug," he said.

They embraced briefly and then she turned to Jenny, Vastra, and Strax.

"Still keeping Victorian London safe for me?"

"To the best of our abilities Ma'am," Jenny said.

"You're always welcome to visit," Vastra said.

"If you need us to come and annihilate in another enemy, it would be an honor and a pleasure!" Strax said.

"Speaking of annihilation," the Doctor said and turned to face the group. "Martha you proposed blowing up the Biluan planet and none of you tried to stop Strax from doing so."

"I'd allow again in a heartbeat," River said.

"No regrets," Jack said.

"Clean conscience," Martha said.

"It was a glorious victory!" Strax said.

"I didn't get a vote in the matter and I was the one subjected to the torture," the Doctor said.

No one spoke.

"It is a slippery slope from here," the Doctor said. "When you play god once, you can grow addicted to it. I have and I've seen it others, particularly the Master. Be careful of your choices in life from now and try not to get too emotional. That is all I will say."

No one spoke.

The Doctor turned away from the console.

"River, get everyone but Yaz, Ryan, and Graham home. I'm in need of a good kip."

"But darling don't you want me around to hold you through the nightmares?" she asked.

"River, I need a slight return to normalcy in my life," she said. "Having you around is a breathless adventure I'm too tired for right now. Get everyone home and send whatever you stole to a museum."

"Promise we'll meet again?" River said.

The Doctor kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Always."

…

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief when everyone was gone, and she was left alone in her own room. It felt good to be home.

Stripping off the nightgown, the Doctor looked at her body. Martha has obviously done a good job sealing her chest and there were no other visible injuries.

"I am in your mind."

The Doctor jumped and saw a Beluan in her room at the foot of her bed.

"You think something as simple as a bomb could get rid of me? I am in your mind and I will drive you to kill everyone you love and then yourself."

"No!" she said. "I'm stronger!"

"You are not. You are the most pathetic timelord we've ever tortured. Your screams were the loudest of any of them."

"Leave me alone!" she screamed.

"Doctor!" Yaz shouted

The Doctor quickly put on a robe and opened the door. She pulled Yaz into her embrace.

"It still isn't over," she sobbed.

The Beluan was watching her.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

I've been busy with other stories and the recent death of my mom. I don't know why I'm returning to this story per say. I just feel I need to give it a proper ending.

Chapter Seven:

The Doctor didn't let go of Yaz's hand throughout the examination process at the space station. Thankfully, they didn't have the Doctor disrobe and all the scans where done in open-air chambers. Eve also happened to be available to assist. Yaz could tell though that the Doctor was scared, and a scared Doctor always worried Yaz.

The doctor in charge of her case was a man with gills on his neck called Dr. Khan Ezuri. He was professional, but had a soft tone. They listened to him intently.

"The Beluan mind mite is not easily extracted," Ezuri explain to them. "The best way to destroy it is for the Doctor to be chemically sedated and for her to fight the Beluan hand to hand in her mind."

"Can we join her?" Yaz asked.

"I'm afraid not," he said.

He then stared directly at the Doctor.

"I feel you need to hear this in the bluntest terms: If nothing is done, this mite will kill you, though far more slowly if you choose not to go through with the procedure. During the procedure, the mite will try to kill you. The choice is yours, Doctor."

"I like to face things head on," she said with ounce of her old cheerfulness. "Let's face this Beluan down."

"I'll get the chair ready," Ezuri said.

The Doctor looked at Yaz intently. Yaz knew what she was thinking. They hadn't traveled long and didn't have a "cosmic connection," but they did have something. Somehow, they were both hesitant to say it.

Ryan sighed impatiently.

"Just go for it Yaz," he said.

The Doctor and Yaz turned to him.

"You knew?" the Doctor said.

"It's clear as day," Graham said. "Doc., you're brilliant in every way imaginable, but I sense you have something to learn about humanity."

"I think I do," the Doctor said and turned to Yaz. "Would you care to teach me before I face immanent death?"

"My pleasure," she said.

Yaz kissed the Doctor. It was like no other kiss she'd experienced in her life. It sent her world spinning. She forgot to breathe.

"If I survive this," the Doctor said. "We'll jettison the boys off onto one half of the planet Shalacka where they can drink and watch sports from seven different planets including earth. Then we go to the half and spend it however we want. Okay?"

"Sounds, perfect," Yaz said.

The Doctor squeezed Yaz's hand.

"Now I need to go and face a demon."

Yaz grabbed and kissed her again. It was the same level of cosmic wonder as the last time. She remembered breath this time.

"For luck," she said.

"For luck," the Doctor said with a smile.

There were tears in her eyes though.

…

The Doctor settled into the comfortable chair and they hooked her up with an IV.

"Yaz," she called out.

Her girlfriend stepped forward.

The Doctor pulled out a key to the TARDIS.

"If anything happens."

"It won't," she insisted.

"But if it does," the Doctor also insisted. "Take care of her for me along with the boys."

Tear streamed down her face.

"I will."

Yaz took it as Ryan and Graham stepped forward.

"Take care of each other," she said. "I love all three of you. You're each incredible in every way imaginable. I will fight but nothing in this great big universe is guaranteed. Take care and I'll see you soon."

Yaz blew her a kiss.

Ryan waved.

Graham nodded at her.

Ezuri appeared.

"Ready Doctor?" he said as he pulled out a needle.

"Now or never," she said.

He plunged the needle into her right arm and she was instantly asleep.

…

She woke up naked on the same cold examining table as the first time.

"We're not going to play this game," she said.

The Doctor got off the table and blinked. She was instantly dressed in her usual coat, top, and suspenders.

"I have been waiting for you Doctor," the Beluan said. "I have searched the recesses of your mind and found your name."

He said it and she fell to her knees. He kept repeating it as the Doctor screamed. Her most important secret was in the hands of a monster. She couldn't let this happen. The Beluan did not stop.

The Doctor screamed louder. She got up and launched herself on the demon. She threw her hands around its neck and proceeded to choke it. The Beluan did the same to her. They were locked in a battle to the death.

…

"What's happening?" Yaz cried.

The Doctor was beginning to fade.

"The Doctor is a being of time," Ezuri said. "It looks like the both the Beluan and the Doctor are losing. I have only read about this in obscure texts."

"Doctor!" Ryan screamed.

"She can't hear you," Graham said.

"Doctor!" Ryan cried.

The Doctor faded out of existence.

Ryan broke down and sobbed as Graham held him.

Yaz looked at the key. It was glowing faintly.

"This isn't over," she said.


	8. Chapter 8

I don't know who is reading this, but I hope someone likes it.

Chapter Eight:

"You're sure we'll find her?" Graham asked as they entered the TARDIS.

"I can feel her in the key," Yaz said. "I also just know in my heart she isn't dead."

"She can't be dead!" Ryan cried. "She just can't!"

"Easy Ryan," Graham said patting him on the shoulder. "We'll find her."

He gave Yaz a worried look.

She pulled a lever she had seen the Doctor pull many times before. The TARDIS went into motion. No one knew where it was going, no one really cared so long as it led to the Doctor.

After what felt like an eternity but probably only five minutes, the TARDIS stopped. Yaz exited first and found they were on another asteroid. The stars were in motion though and swirled across the sky.

"What is this place?" Graham asked softly.

"Doctor!" Ryan yelled. "DOCTOR!"

They cautiously walked around the rock. Yaz saw it first: A shimmering figure on the ground.

She held out a hand to Ryan and Graham.

"Wait here."

Yaz cautiously approached the figure. A blur of faces molted across it. Yaz could tell she was dying, but part of her was still fighting. Still fighting to exist.

"This works in the fairy tales," she said. "Let's see if it works in space."

She kneeled down and held the warm glowing figure in her arms. Yas softly kissed the ever-moving face on where the lips were.

It was pure ecstasy. Euphoria. Joy like nothing she'd experienced before. It was like the best possible orgasm she had ever imagined and better. Yaz felt infinite.

When it ended, she opened her eyes and realized she was holding the Doctor as she knew her. She was smiling at her.

"True love's kiss," the Doctor said with a smile. "Remind me to take you to meet the Brothers Grimm. They're a pair of characters."

"Doctor!" Ryan shouted.

"Come here boy," she said with a broad smile.

"How?" Graham asked as he hugged her with Ryan.

"The Beluan and I were at a stalemate. We effectively offed each other except for the essence that I store in the form of love. Only one of the people I have intimate feelings for can awaken and restore me to my original form."

"Does this happen every time you die?" Yaz asked.

"Only when I die on the mental plane," she said. "It is really complicated, but simply put: Yaz your kiss restored me to who I am because love is one of the most powerful forces in the universe."

"So, what now?" Ryan asked.

"I am going to check in regularly with a mental health counselor," the Doctor said. "Just because the mite is gone doesn't mean the thoughts aren't there. But we're still going to go on crazy adventures and depend on each other for support. Got it?"

"Excellent," Yaz said.

"How about that planet for sports?" Graham said. "I have been meaning to check on how Arsenal is doing."

"You're an Arsenal fan?" she asked shocked. "I should abandon you here!"

Ryan laughed.

"I didn't know you knew much about earth sports."

"I'll show you what I know. To Emirate stadium we go!"

The Doctor and Yaz held hands as they entered the TARDIS

THE END

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading this odd little story. It was an experiment in seeing how far I could take a story like this. Please consider dropping a review. Thanks again!


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